Since I blogged about Thing Two yesterday...

Yes, I don't want to show favoritism, as both my daughters are cool, talented, beautiful and annoying. So today I'm writing about my older daughter, Mary. Mary isn't "classically" cool. She's funny, fun, friendly, goofy, a little on the airheaded side (sometimes I wonder if it's real of fake). This makes her incredibly likable. I can't say I appreciate her taste in music, but I'm sure a lot of people do. 

Her talent lies in soccer. At one point, I didn't think she'd excel in the sport. She was shy and lackedconfidence. She was a defender at first, and she got better. When she expressed a desire to play up front, I told her, "You have to prove to your coach that you can do it. You have to be aggressive and fight for the ball." The next practice, she did just that. She moved from defense to forward and in the next years she became one of the team's top scorers.

Now she's an excellent team player. Put her up front, she can score. She weaves in and out of players so smoothly she makes it look easy. I think her real talent lies in the midfield. She has a strong foot and can move the ball forward. Her passes are spot on. Plus, she can shoot for the goal from that position if she's open. I love watching her play. She's dedicated too. She eats fairly well, never misses practice, and exercises outside of practice. At her last physical, her doctor told her she was "pure muscle."





Let's talk about beauty. Mary is beautiful, there is no question. She has a confidence that I wish all teenage girls possessed. Her hair is always done when she goes out, unless she's going to work out. She dresses impeccably, when she's not in soccer shorts. And like I said, she's fit.





 There 's more though. You may not know it by looking at her, because she looks like any other popular girl, but she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She's sweet, kind and thoughtful.

Now for the annoying part. She usually doesn't complain when I ask her to do chores, but it sometimes may take a day...or two...or three...or a week. She constantly has friends over and I can never enjoy my TV room when she's home (because she's bingewatching Gossip Girl or Vampire Diaries, or something similar). She is an exhibitionist to a fault. That's all I'll say about that.

She's really a loving person. She visits her grandparents. She misses me when we've not seen each other in a couple days and tells me so. She also tells me she loves me every day. She helps me when she knows I'm struggling. We talk to each other about everything. 

There you are Mary. No need to be jealous of your sister now. Love you girl.

Blog me

"What should I blog about today?"

I posed this question to my daughter as she walked out the door for school today. She said, "Blog about me."

"What should I talk about?"

"How cool I am. How talented I am. How beautiful I am. How annoying I can be. How humble I am." Okay, I made up that last one.

She told me about Childish Gambino. I'd never heard of him. If you haven't, apparently he is a comedic rapper/singer. I watched a couple videos and...it's funny. He raps silly shit, but it makes sense, in a way, I mean, hard to explain. Here's some lyrics.

This one is from Sweatpants:

Hip deep in the Pepto, I got five on her like Ben Folds
I got more tail than that PetCo, you faker than some Sweet'N Low
Yeah, you got some silverware, but really are you eating though?

Here is some from Freaks and Geeks (warning, nasty nasty lyrics):

 Gambino is a mastermind, fuck a bitch to pass the time
Mass Appeal, orange rind, smoke your green, I'm spendin' mine
The beat is witches brew, but beware this shit is potent
E.E. cummin' on her face, now that's poetry in motion.

In his songs you can tell, or at least I can, or maybe I'm imagining it, what rappers he's making a parody of. But he does it so subtly, it's genius. He got his name from the Wu Tang Clan name generator. By the way, mine is Mad Scientist and Rachel's is Master Destroyer.

So, my daughter, Rachel, she introduces me to new things. New music, videos, interesting people. She's cool like that. She has great taste in music. I remember her first favorite band was the Beatles (she still likes them). She listens to many different genres, hip hop, rap, rock, alternative, indie...She plays songs that she's discovered for me all the time. She keeps a poetry notebook. She likes to draw.  She loves photography. She has many unique and different likes in this world.

Rachel is uber talented. Her talents began with sports. She could probably have played any sport she
wanted, but we put her in soccer and basketball. I don't know basketball very well, but I think her position was guard? She brought the ball down the court, great at passing. She was also a great shooter, but she was short. Get her at the free throw line though...golden.

She was an awesome keeper in soccer. I've seen that girl stop goals that looked impossible. From the time she was in about 3rd grade on, that girl was a menace on the field. Also, she could play any position on the field. The last year she played, she was reluctant. But I was coaching so I talked her into it. Her usual position, if not keeper, was defense. She had a great foot and could clear that ball with no problem. Same at midfield. Her passes were so accurate!! And she could score. She'd
sometimes get frustrated on the field and say she didn't want to go back in. I gave her a pep talk and told her exactly what I wanted her to do. Sometimes it was to  pass it up to the forwards. Other times, I would tell her to take it as close to the goal as possible and shoot. Other times (depending on team and keeper we were playing) I'd tell her to shoot when she got close to the 18. She had a strong foot, her shots were great and she wasn't afraid to shoot. I think she was my 3rd highest scorer that last year.

Her interests turned to music however. I was sad to see her quit soccer, but her musical talents rivaled her athletic ability. I put her in lessons for guitar and voice. Very soon, her teacher had her playing keyboards/piano and drums. One day she came home and said, "I need a bass."

Um...huh? "I'm in a band now. I'm the bass player."

"Do you know how to play bass?"

"I'm learning."

I think you could stick any instrument in that girl's hand and she could figure out how to play it. She even played the cello at an acoustic performance.

So, in this band she played mostly bass and  a little rhythm guitar. She also has a beautiful voice. She sang on some of their songs. And she writes originals. She fucking rocks.

At her high school, she's in both Jazz Choir and Concert Choir. Her Jazz Choir just took a gold medal at a competition in Seattle last month.

Okay, let's talk about her beauty. Yes, I think she's beautiful. Obviously the boys do too as she usually has a string of them waiting to be her next boyfriend.

 

 And she just recently went from long  hair to short. I was worried, but when she came home, it really did suit  her.

And yes, she's annoying. She's about the worst cleaner in the world (but the best mess maker). She doesn't always get her homework in on time. She's not found a job. She rolls her eyes when I ask her to do chores. But this is only a small part of who she is.

My daughter is cool and talented and beautiful. She walks to the beat of her own drum. She doesn't care about trends when it

comes to music, clothes. She doesn't care how people view her as long as she has friends and is happy. In many ways, she is my mini me.

So here you go Rachel. Here's your blog. You know I'm going to have to write about your sister tomorrow now.

Love you girl.

Little bits of happy

Yesterday I blogged about crappy stuff. Yeah, I had a crappy day. But last night was bliss. Last night I went to my daughter's last regular season soccer game of her high school life. It was cold and a little drizzly. We had to be there early because it was senior night. The team gives all the senior girls flowers and they announce their future plans, where they want to go to school and the parents get to go down on the field with them...it's really cool. You can probably tell I look blissfully happy in the pic to the left (that's her dad, my ex on her other side).

This team they played was undefeated. When we'd played them before, we lost 1-0.

I'll tell you what, the refs weren't kind. They were calling us for every little thing, BAD calls. Some of them, we had no idea what the hell they were. Yet, the other team was knocking our girls around left and right, pushing them down from behind, elbowing them in the side, hitting them in the gut, and they got no calls whatsoever. 

Needless to say, they pulled ahead of us 1-0 just before the half.

You could tell our team was angry and frustrated, but it looked like they settled things down at half time. They were working better as a team, making better passes. They looked really good. At about the 70 minute mark, my daughter scored to tie it up.

The battled continued and it was a hard one. Bodies were flying all over the field, penalties were called, it was hard to score. The game was moving fast, as we wanted to beat the undefeated team and they wanted to keep their untarnished record. But at 80 minutes, right before the game ending whistle blew, my daughter dribbled the ball close the goal, bringing the goalie out just a bit, and took a shot. She made it bringing the score 2-1 as everyone ran off the field and the scoreboard went blank. 

It was like a movie and was the perfect end to a miserable day.

2013 Wilson High School senior girls soccer players

I feel good! *cue James Brown*

I really do. I've let REJECTION #1 roll right off. I'm ready for REJECTION #2 (or miracle of all miracles representation). I'm pretty sure I've got a part time gig reviewing books lined up for some extra cash. Not much, but it will help.

I feel awesome, walking, playing soccer. My kids are amazing, getting their homework done, playing some awesome soccer, making some music (the latter only Thing One, she's going to a meeting for the school musical today, Grease, I'm going to live vicariously through her if she makes it).

I'm getting through the revisions. Slowly, but getting there.

I'm thinking of the positive things in life. Trying to ignore the negative. This is kind of a first for me. I've been treating myself good for four days in a row now. I know that sounds crazy, but if you knew me in real life, you'd understand. I'm telling myself I'm worth it. I'm worth the hard work, the will power, that second book deal, that healthy body, that happiness.

Full frontal

I'm using it as a metaphor (is that the right word? I can never keep them straight.) for the unveiling of  truth about what I've been feeling lately. It will seem like this all has nothing to do with writing, but in the end it does.

Call it whining, call it self pity, whatever, but I've had all these feelings bottled up and I'm tired of feeling them.

Day job. It's hard. I've taken on more than I was ever supposed to. There is really no title or job description for what I do. I should be making the kind of money a professional makes, but I don't. However, I do enjoy it, so there's that.

Relationships. Me and the BF broke up. I did the breaking up though I liked him a lot. I had my reasons. I thought we could be friends, then I saw him, and I realized it was too soon because it's still very raw with me in fact I'm tearing up right now as I'm writing this because I really didn't want to let the relationship go, but knew for my happiness I had to.

Health. I've been exercising. I've been riding bike, playing soccer (I did pull a muscle, but getting back into it slowly, been stuck playing goalie), and walking a lot. I've found that I dislike running greatly (trying to stay away from the "H" word). I may try it again, but truly I can't stand it. I eat well. Pretty well. I like pizza every once in a while. I like to go to wing night, but I eat salads every week day for lunch, fruit, yogurt for breakfast. I never eat chips or other crap, I don't drink pop.

Money, let's just say ugh. Looking for more work or that second book deal.

I have been a little self destructive lately. I won't elaborate, but every so often I get in a funk, and I stay there until I feel like my own life is out of my control. And it doesn't matter if I'm trying to do good things for myself, as well, the bad always wins out. Because of this, my writing suffers.

I've tried to work on my revisions every day, I hate not seeing the stars on my calendar, and I've done okay, but I'm not very motivated and I've not done enough. I've been so tired. Sometimes I feel like the writing world is leaving me behind.

I started fresh Sunday though. I upped my game. I'm being good to myself, going to take time for just me (and my kids, can't ignore them I guess, right :)). I'm walking longer, (not riding bike right now because of a faulty tube, which I need to take back but haven't had time and can't afford to buy new tubes right now). I'm going to look at the positive in the things I do and try to ignore the negative.


And I'm going to finish these damn revisions and get it submitted. I'm going to get this second book deal.

*breathes deep, does Tadasana pose*

F³A: Finally

It's finally Friday.  This week has been a complete clusterf*&@k.  I feel like I can breathe.  Just a little.  Last night was the first night I slept well all week.  I still need to get through one more day of Dreamweaver class, and then, aaahhhhh.

The weekend is busy too, but that's a different kind of busy.  That's soccer busy.  I don't mind soccer busy.

And then next week, short week.  I'm getting my hair done.  I'm having a girls night out.  I have a date, who says he's going to pamper me.  He's a chef.  I'm sure I've already mentioned that.  Turkey day, then a girls weekend at the beach.

Did I say aaaahhhhh already?

What are your plans for the weekend?

The Friday Scribbles:

Random iPod shuffle song: Don't look back in Anger, Oasis.

Netflix of the Week: Mad Men.  I still hate all the men, but I feel the civil rights movement coming and that should rock them a bit.

Book of the Week: I'm going to start reading fellow 2k12ers Robin Bridges, The Gathering Storm this week.  Think Russia and Vampires.  Hits stores in January.

Quote of the Week: 
"Always gotta keep busy or the voices start telling me to do wild things. "
~Steve Brown

Have a good weekend everyone and don't forget about my giveaway, check yesterdays blog for details!

Monkey Madness Monday

Yes, it is Monkey Madness Monday!!  I've turned over a new leaf. (again) of course I had some serious motivation this time.  I was watching some of the old chronicle videos I've done, and i was skinny.  I want to be that girl again without all the mental problems. :)

So this weekend was my last hurrah, I ate pizza and last night had some Francis Ford Coppola wine.  I also got on the elliptical twice and just finished Jillian Michaels yoga torture this morning.

Back to the good carbs and fiber.  I even ate breakfast this morning ( I never do).  I am going to lose this weight before my release.  Holidays be damned!

Life is getting more normal, school soccer is over, I'm almost done with my to-do list for my release other than party details.  Life is good.

What goals are you shooting for before the end of the years?

Monkey Madness Monday

I love this monkey.  He appears to be forlorn about something.

So, it's Monday.  The weekend was half crazy, half quietly productive. If you subscribe to my youtube channel, you probably know part of the craziness that was my Friday night.  If not, you can watch it here.

Two soccer games, two wins.  Lots of fun. A friend came over Saturday night.  I was exhausted and a little tipsy and fell asleep on her (not literally on her, but you know what I mean).  She still loves me though.

And I caught up with blog posts (almost) and work for the Class of 2k12.  I have a few more things to do to get ready for my book release.

I can't believe it's getting so close.  I don't think I'll ever feel ready.

Oh, yeah, and there's that pesky work in progress to revise.  I'd like to have it done by November 1st, but I'm not sure that's realistic.

Don't forget, it's Teen Read Week.  Get your teens to their local library and have them pick out something to read for fun!!!

Monkey Madness Monday

Yep Monkey Madness Monday.  I don't have much for you today.  Had a busy weekend.  A long walk in the rain, two soccer games (one on an island so there were two ferry rides involved making it an all day event).  Not a good weekend for area sports.  Both girl's teams lost and my Hawks *shakes head*. 

Teachers are still on strike.  We're going to feel it at the end of the year.  Which as my older daughter says doesn't matter because the weather doesn't even get nice until July.

And I believe Fall is officially upon us, even though the temperature seems to be having hot flashes.  It was really humid here yesterday.  That mixed  with my own hot flashes doesn't bode well.

I didn't do my housecleaning like I wanted over the weekend.  Too much going on plus I've just been so tired.  And there's so much to do and the weather caught up with me.  A shed still needs to be built, a pool drained, There's a badminton set getting soaked and I'm afraid to move it because I'm sure there's a family of earwigs living under it now. sigh.

I need a vacation.  Maybe a weekend of solitude at the beach again.

Happy Monday all.

F³A: The balancing act

Life has changed so drastically for me the last few years.  I haven't yet learned to balance everything.  When I focus on one thing, something else gets ignored.  For instance, I've been working on marketing my book this week, but I've not revised my manuscript hardly at all, and my house is definitely the self cleaning type.

And then there's soccer season.  Now, I don't have as much responsibility this year as far as soccer goes.  I don't help coach anymore.  I'm not really managing the team anymore, but still with the constant driving.  Thing One has practice every day unless she has a game.  That's M-F.  That's only the school team.  She also has practice Mon & Wed with her select team.  Her games are on Sundays.

Thing Two has practice also Mon & Wed.  She gets out the same time as Thing One those nights.  Her games are on Saturdays.  And when school gets back in session (teachers are on strike) tryout will continue for her school team.

That's seven days of soccer stuff.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I LOVE soccer, and I definitely love watching my kids play, and miss helping coach Thing Two's team (if I had the time I still would) but it's the driving that kills me (hence the hiring of my Girl Friday who starts work for me Monday).

 And I'm sorry, but the day job is killing me.  I mean, I have a great job, and I need it, and it's only part time, but I do much of the same stuff there as I do for my book stuff - blogging, facebook, twitter, and it kind of sucks the creativity out of me on top of taking away some of my writing hours.  But what are you going to do, right?

I've decided to have myself cloned.  I will have one clone to go to my day job, one to clean the house, one to do my marketing, and I will write and do the fun stuff with my kids while Girl Friday does the driving.  I think that's a good plan, don't you?

Oh, and I'm going to throw some yoga into the mix.  I've always hated yoga, but everyone's touting it these days, especially my friend Lori, so I'm going to try it. sigh.

Happy Friday, here are my Friday Scribbles (see that, I changed it from nibbles to scribbles so it's more writerly)

Random iPod shuffle song: No Love by Eminem featuring Lil Wayne (explicit lyrics).  I love Eminem.  Do you think he'd go out with me?  We're around the same age.

Book of the week: I'm still reading OyMG by Amy Dominy, but since Banned Book Week is coming up, I decided to go with The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, one of my favorite banned books.

Netflix of the week: Monk.  I think I'm on Season 5.  Loving it.

Quote of the week: "The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man." ~ Euripides

Thursday

I've got no pithy title for Thursdays anymore.  My brain is scattered with everything going on right now.  This time of year always makes me a little crazy, and with the release of Never Eighteen in a few months, um, crazy has turned into hysterical.  School, soccer, drivers ed, book everything, revising Sad, planning a release, marketing.  Too much at once.

I took three naps last week.

I don't nap.

No, seriously, anyone who knows me can tell you I'm not a napper. I hate napping because there are other things I could be doing.  But I think my body was rebelling against the perpetual motion.  It screamed, "Slow the f#@% down!!!!" 

So I hired a Girl Friday.  Yep. I did.  Can I afford it?  Probably not, but I need to keep my sanity.  And I need to get things done.  But when you have a day job, then have to drive your kids various places until 7 pm with soccer games on the weekend, time is fleeting, and I'm too tired to work on book stuff.

She starts Monday.  I've hired her mostly to drive my children around, but she'll also do light cleaning, yard work, errands etc, etc.  I'm pretty stoked about this.  It almost makes me feel important.  Almost, but not quite.

We'll see how things go.

Monkey Madness Monday

So, it's Monday again.  It's been raining here for four days straight.  In the middle of July.  I mean, I know I live in Washington, but we usually get July and August sun.  This is ridiculous.  I bought a pool we've only been able to use twice, I left a bunch of crap outside on the last sunny day, not even able to fathom that rain was coming.  And I'm tired.  And cranky.  And frustrated. sigh.

I need to get rich so I can buy a place in AZ and hop a plane whenever the weather is like this.  I'm accepting donations (kidding).

On top of the rain, I just had a busy and frustrating weekend.  Teenage overload, one of which broke my elliptical.  I'm fatter than ever, I've GOT to get my ass working out and stop eating as if the world is ending tomorrow.  There were so many events I was supposed to attend it made my head spin out of control.  Did I mention the rain?  I had to drive about 30 miles to a soccer game on Friday, traffic was horrible, it poured down rain during the drive there, the entire game, and the drive home.

Even a Monday can't be as bad as all that.

At least I have cute monkeys to make me smile.

Thursday Theme Day

Soccer (or futbol if you're anywhere but in America).

From now to January, my family lives, loves, and breathes soccer.  It's only natural it would end up in my novels.

Someone is always a soccer player, be them a main character, or an aside.

In Never Eighteen, Austin was a soccer player until his illness made him too sick to play.

Any other themes seem to land in your novels every time you sit down to write?

T Tuesday. T is for Theme

Themes.  Do you have some that run through just about every one of your novels?  Here are a few things that I see me constantly writing about, whether they play a major part or a supporting role.

Soccer: I love soccer.  I love watching my kids play soccer.  I used soccer in the MG series I wrote (my very venture into novel writing), it also had it's supporting roll in Never Eighteen (NE).  It makes sense because every weekend for about nine months out of the year I am either watching one or two games a week.

Coffee, particularly Starbucks:  I'm addicted, so this just makes sense.  In the MG series, they have a favorite coffee shop, in NE Kaylee works at Starbucks.  In Lockdown there is a scene with the shooters mom and the police where they talk over coffee.

Death:  Yep.  I'm starting to think I may be obsessed with or at least fascinated by it.  People die.  I've killed or made someone gravely ill in every book I've written be it nemesis, best friend, or the entire cast.  I think in my WIP (work in progress) I won't kill anyone, though my protagonist is fascinated by death.

Teen social issues: Eating disorders, domestic abuse, drug abuse, alcoholism, depression, sexual assault, homosexuality, violence, I've written about all of them.  The sad thing is, teens face these problems every day whether it's their own issue, or someone close to them.

So, what reoccurring themes do you find running through your writing?

Do share.

F³A: Life of a Soccer Mom

Okay, I'm not only a soccer mom, I'm a soccer team assistant coach and manager.  When we practice, we play hard.  Right now we're playing indoor so we go to the middle school and practice in the basketball court.  We call it, cage soccer.

The older and better these girls get, the harder it is to keep up.  When we started this team, they were fourth graders, well, now at 13, many of them are taller than me, and they're all definitely tougher than me.

Last night I got kicked in the foot, pummeled in the thigh and gut, and had two near misses to my face (I've been hit square in the face, believe me, it hurts like hell)  Oh, and I got knocked down right on my back on the concrete.  Good times.

This morning my arm is sore, my back aches, and I pretty much hurt all over.  So, why do I do it?  Because I love it.  We've been together so long I love these girls as if they were my own.  Every time I get injured, I play it up and make them laugh.  Of course, if I continue, I could be dead soon.  I can see the obit now.  Megan Bostic passed away suddenly when she was pummeled with a soccer ball one to many times.

On a side note, I'm coming along on my pass pages, my ARC's will be out soon, and my novel is on Netgalley for all you review bloggers.

Random iPod shuffle song: For the First Time by The Script, one of my favorite new bands.


DVD of the Week: Weird Science, going to watch it this weekend with my girls.

Book of the Week:  Deadline by Chris Crutcher, still reading, still liking.

Quote of the Week: "Live under the sun, love under the moon."  I have no idea where this quote comes from.  I saw it on a sign.

Giving Thanks

Since it's Turkey Day Eve, I thought I would share with you the things I have been thankful for this last year.  These are in no particular order, so don't judge me if I put gummy worms at number one, and my kids at number 534.

I'm thankful for support systems.  I have needed many this year whether for my writing or just life in general.  This support system includes family and friends alike.  It would take too long to list every single one of them, but there are a few names I'd like to mention.  My parents, always there for me no matter what.  Rusty, even at my craziest, always there to catch me when I fall.  My kids, which I normally call Thing One and Thing Two, but will use their names, Mary and Rachel, without them I'm sure I would be lost.  My siblings, they have my back.  Jay, Angela, and Heidi.  Who've helped me out with some stuff.  We'll leave it at that.

As far as the writing goes, I have numerous people to be thankful for, starting with my agent, who sold my book in two weeks, and my editor, who is absolutely wonderful, but there are three people who have been there since my very first writing contest, Gae, Jeff, and Tracy.  Probably wouldn't have been able to do this writing gig without you.

...and speaking of writing, I'm thankful for having joined the Class of 2k11.  They have been an awesome support through this crazy writing gig as well, and it's nice to know that we all have each other to commiserate and celebrate with.  Also all the people who've read my writing and given feedback.  You rock.

Okay, enough of that.  I'm thankful for a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food on my table.  Times are still tough for many, think about donating some time, food, or clothing to your local shelter.

I'm thankful for soccer and NFL football.  Two of my favorite things to watch this time of year.

And here are just some random bits:

Sorry I can't resist this.  It's my favorite.

Gummy candies

Harry Potter

ABNA

The sun

The Internet

MBC

Facebook

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Dexter

Weeds

Netflix

The Pacific Northwest

107.7 The End

103.7 The Mountain

Pandora

Playlist.com

iTunes

I think I'll stop there.  I'm sorry if I've left anyone off, the people behind me are really too numerous to name.  But you know who you are, and just realize, I'm thankful for you too.

So, what are you thankful for this holiday season?

An Update of a Different Kind.

Select soccer.  

Thing One's coach approached me last week after practice.  He had told the parents about some tournaments the teams were going to be doing during the summer, but both teams couldn't be at the same tournaments because there wasn't enough players to fill both teams yet.

So after practice, he told me he would definitely by taking Mary to the tournaments with the A team.  He also said when picking teams, she was right on the bubble.  He went on to say that had he not enough for both an A and B team, Mary would have made the team.  Yet, since there were two teams, he took physically stronger kids on the A team and left Mary on the B team for a couple of reasons.

1) Mary will get as much playing time as she wants on the B team, whereas on the A team, she would be fighting for playing time.

2) Playing that much would prepare her better for high school soccer, which he knew she wanted to play.

I think he gave viable reasons, and we felt better about the decision.  Since more has come up though.  Will update when the time is right.

Oh, select soccer, why do you torture me so? 

Ciao,

Megan

F³A: World Cup Excitement

Those of you who know me, know how much I love soccer.  I've been waiting four years for this event to come, and the first game doesn't disappoint.  South Africa vs. Mexico.  The first goal was a perfect left footer in the upper corner of the goal shot by Tshabalala of South Africa (isn't that a cool name?).

At this very moment they lead 1-0 and are second to the lowest ranked teams in these world cup games.

Only problem is it sounds like there are a  million bees at the stadium because of some problem with their sound equipment.

If you've never watched world cup soccer, you should.  It's amazing, the passing, the headers, the shots, plus soccer players are just hot. You have seen the cover of the latest Vanity Fair, right? (see pic at left) There is some drama.  I love when they milk their injuries to run time off the clock.

And as I'm sitting here blogging, Mexico has just tied the game!!  See, exciting!!

Well, I need to go, I'm missing the game.  Makes me excited for my daughter's three indoor games tonight (even though I have to coach one of them, scary)

Current song on my iPod: When You Were Young by The Killers

Current read: Alchemy by my friend Mike Wood (yes I'm still reading it, I'm slow)

Current Watch: Duh, World Cup Soccer.

Quotes of the week: 

Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that. ~ Bill Shankly

I fell in love with football as I would later fall in love with women: suddenly, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain it would bring. ~ Nick Hornby

Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man. ~ Pele

Every time I went away I was deceiving my mum. I'd tell her I was going to school but I'd be out on the street playing football. I always had a ball on my feet. ~ Ronaldo

F³A: Everything Under the Sun

Well since it's the Friday Free For All and I have nothing really to talk about I'm just going to talk about everything. :)

We had a day of sunshine yesterday.  Yay us!!!!  And we're back to rain and gray.  And yes, I know I live in the rainiest place on the planet, but I always have and always will.  There is much to admire about the Pacific NW, it's green and clean.  I'm a car drive away from lakes, mountains, oceans, rivers, waterfalls, and a couple national parks. 

Thing One's school soccer season ended yesterday with a 6-0 win.  They only lost one game, 1-0 which was a bunch of crap because our goalie had the ball and a girl on the other team basically shoved her into the goal.  I think Thing One score 4 or 5 goals during the season, and she had a bunch of assists.  Awesome.

Thing Two's arms is healing well, she seems to have full mobility now.  We're trying to get her into contacts for the upcoming soccer season, but she's not taking to it well.  Anyone have any tricks for getting contacts in your kid's eye?

Finally got a book review out yesterday, I seem to have lost the ability to put videos on my blog, as the video button appears to be gone.  Anyone have a solution for that?  Can I embed a code or something?

This cool cat Amy Munday does what she calls  Writer's Scribbles on her Unabashed Impropriety blog, and this weeks featured author is yours truly, check it out here, leave a comment.  Also, she's looking for other authors to feature, if you're interested, let her know.  Tell her Megan sent you.

Also, I am embarking on a new blog venture.  More later on that, though I can tell  you, it's going to be awesome.

Here's a little snippet from the dystopian I'm working on, just to tease you. ;)

     Exiting, I strolled down the hall to another door and opened it, a linen closet.  The next door led to a bathroom.  It was filthy, caked thick with grime and mold.  Mystery fluids, more than likely blood and vomit were splashed across the walls, and the floor.  I opened the cabinet below the sink and found Lysol, disinfectant wipes, glass cleaner, tile cleaner, a sponge, and paper towels.  I wiped everything down, spotless, threw the garbage on the floor, and walked across to the last room.  The girl’s room.

     I approached the soiled bed and removed the rest of the bedding.  I went downstairs, through the mudroom, and the back door, I dropped the sheets to the ground.  Entering the barn, I looked around for something to put water in.  Most of the tools were old, and peeling.  After scouring shelves, and bins, I found a bucket.  One of the old metal kind, with a rusted and squeaky handle.  It was quite a walk down to the pond, and having to navigate through the overgrown grass and brush made it no easier.  Once at the pond, I stopped and admired the scenery.  It was quite beautiful country.  Tall cedars surrounded the property, standing guard like wooden sentries, blue sky hanging over like a canopy.      

     Squatting down, I filled the bucket.  Staring into the murky brown mass, I wondered if we’d ever have running water again.  I missed running water, doing dishes in them, showering.  I was tired of pool water, and pond water, and rainwater.  Tired of boiling it until it was okay to wash in, to drink.  I rose and carried the bucket to the house, it sloshed and splashed all the way, sprinkling my legs, my shoes.

     I put the bucket down outside the back door, went in and retrieved the propane stove, a stockpot, and boiled the water.  I had some cleaning to do.  Once the water boiled and cooled, I poured half of it back in the bucket followed with some laundry detergent, grabbed the sponge from the bathroom, and went into the little girl’s room.  I poured a generous amount of water onto the mattress and began scrubbing.  I don’t know how long I scrubbed, it could have been five minutes, an hour, but the stains persisted, lingering like a scar in the flesh.  A reminder of what once used to be, a family, a life, and now death.

That's all you get.  You can let me know what you think if you like.

Current song on my iPod: Winter by Joshua Radin

Book currently on my nightstand: Charlaine Harris, Dead Until Dark, though still reading Alchemy by my friend and total hottie (he loves it when I say that), Mike Wood

Current Watch: A Serious Man, started it last night.  Will finish it tonight.  Loves me some Joel Coen.

Quotes of the week: 

"The Sun is nature's Prozac" ~ Astrid Alauda

"In the sun I feel as one" ~ Kurt Cobain

"I am solar powered" ~ Megan Bostic ;)

Ciao,

Megan